The Connecticut State Capitol building in Hartford, Connecticut. (Michelle Lee/Creative Commons)

In a letter sent to fifteen health-care companies that provide pharmacy benefit management (PBM), several state attorney generals, led by Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen, encouraged these companies to provide programs to mitigate prescription opioid abuse.

The bipartisan group of attorneys general from states including Arizona, Indiana, Michigan and Virginia, signed these letters in an effort to influence company executives, according to an Oct. 20 press release from the attorney general’s office.

The attorneys general also sent a letter to the president and CEO of CVS Health Corporation applauding the company's recent program that automatically enrolled all commercial, health plan, employer and Medicaid clients in an opioid abuse mitigation program, the statement said.

"All of us – law enforcement, first responders, policymakers, healthcare providers, individuals and families – have an important role to play in addressing this epidemic," Jepsen said. "I commend CVS for taking steps to reduce prescription opioid abuse, a contributing factor in the opioid crisis that has impacted Connecticut and communities across the country. Today, my colleagues and I are strongly urging other PBMs to take similar steps and join with us all in action help stop opioid abuse."

The attorneys general urged the other fifteen PBMs to adopt similar measures as CVS by limiting opioid dosage and supply when filling prescriptions, and requiring patients to use immediate-release formulations before requesting extended-release opioids, according to a letter to Benecard Services.

"The opioid epidemic is the most pressing public health crisis our country faces," the attorneys general wrote. "It affects every state and has a devastating impact on communities – tearing apart families and stretching the budgets of local law enforcement and first responders as they do the difficult work on the front lines. For our part, attorneys general are pooling resources and coordinating across party lines to address the crisis."

Data for this graph was derived from drug abuse statistics collected by the office of the Attorney General.

Andrew Miano is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at andrew.miano@uconn.edu.